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The former Otis Hotel building, along with the Commercial Building next door, is one of the final missing links in the redevelopment puzzle along the East End. A number of projects are proposed or underway in the growing downtown district. (PHOTO: historicspokane.org)

The former Otis Hotel, located at 110 S Madison in Spokane’s West End, has been vacant since 2007, when the low-income residents who then called the building home were evicted (often in not-so-great circumstances) to make way for a new condo development. Ultimately, that condo development failed in the recession, and ownership passed from investors to banks and back again.

Now, it again looks like a developer is exploring redeveloping the property. While at this point the developer is unknown, ZBA Architecture, which perhaps most famously served as the architect for the Community Building/Saranac remodel, has attended a Pre-Development Conference with City staff. The Otis Hotel project would remodel and modernize the former SRO units on the second through fifth floors into studio and one-bedroom apartments at a total construction cost estimated at $4.5 million. With floor plans ranging from 250 to 510 square feet, and ultimately as many as 100 apartments occupying the building, it’s safe to classify the project as a “micro-apartment” project. The first floor would likely see remodeled retail space.

Indeed, while the pre-development conference includes no construction timeline, and a Pre-Development Conference is not a building permit application, we should take this news as confirmation that there is significant interest in redeveloping the former Otis building.

The former Otis Hotel building, along with the Commercial Building next door, is one of the final missing links in the redevelopment puzzle along the East End. A number of projects are proposed or underway in the growing downtown district. (PHOTO: historicspokane.org)

Yeah, it’s a somewhat counterintuitive question, given that during the revitalization wave that swept downtown Spokane during the early 2000s, it was the West End, and not the East End, that received a majority of the conversation. (The West End refers to the area roughly between Monroe and Maple along Sprague, Riverside, and First Avenue in downtown Spokane.) And why wouldn’t it? It’s near a significant arts corridor, including the historic Fox Theatre, the Bing Crosby Theatre, the Knitting Factory, and a number of other establishments. The area also was the original host of Terrain.

But on the other hand, there are significant signs of life on the West End that give us reason to believe that there may be an upward swing underway in the district. Here’s a list of the exciting and important projects ongoing on the West End.

1400 Tower || This project, from developer Mick McDowell, will construct a $20 million, 17-story condominimum building with 52 units. Plans include a three-story parking garage accessed from Peaceful Valley, a plaza on the Riverside Ave side, and luxury amenties.

West End Lofts || The Norman-Jefferson Building will be remodeled to include 10,000 square feet of first-floor retail and around 24,000 square feet of residential space on the upper floors, for a total of eight loft condos. This project lies at the opposite end of the block which also houses the former Otis Hotel building.

Montvale Hotel and Montvale Hall || This block has been undergoing significant transition, with the addition of Brooklyn Deli, Gilded Unicorn, and a number of other establishments. With the new owner Jerry Dicker and Ruby Hospitality in control of the Montvale Hotel and the Oddfellows Building, expect renewed activity and significant renovations, including a new events center called Montvale Hall. Hopefully this new activity will spur redevelopment of the Music City Building, which formerly housed Terrain.

1207 W 1st Ave || Preliminary planning documents indicate a proposal for a restaurant in the building located at 1207 W 1st Ave, which currently houses storage for North by Northwest. No specifics are given including the type of restaurant, and a pre-development conference does not guarantee future development, but the applicant notes the intention to create an outdoor patio area on the site.

Certainly these projects and more indicate that there is a level of interest in the West End that hasn’t been seen since before the economic crisis. Hopefuly development in this area will continue to surpass expectations, and we’ll keep you posted as these projects move forward. Share your thoughts below in the comments on what you hope to see in the area next.

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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you seeing a renewed interest in the West End of downtown? Would you live or work in the area? Would you oepn a business there? Is there a building that you’d particularly like to see redeveloped, like the Otis Hotel? And what of the idea of a “brewery district?” Would you be a fan of such a development? Share your thoughts below in the comments, on Facebook, on Twitter, or in person. We love to hear from you!

The seventeen-story, 52-unit 1400 Tower will rise on West Riverside between Browne’s Addition and Downtown Spokane. This conceptual rendering shows the view from Riverside. (PHOTO: Nystrom + Olson Architecture)

Ten years after his initial proposal was scuttled by a tumbling real estate market and opposition from Peaceful Valley neighbors, Spokane developer Mick McDonnell has begun work again on his major, 17-story condominium project at 1404 W. Riverside in downtown Spokane. The $20 million project will add 52 units to this quickly-revitalizing area of the West End. Other area projects include the West End Lofts, a brewery incubator and ceviche bar, and a number of other proposals.

The 1400 Tower will include 275,000 square feet of total space, and Mick McDowell hopes to start constrution in the autumn of this year. In addition, the project in its current form includes three stories of underground parking, totaling 76 spaces, accessed from the Peaceful Valley. This works out to around 1.5 parking spaces per unit. It’s worth asking whether that’s more parking than is necessary for an urban-designed, downtown condominium complex with numerous other parking garages within a block or two. Is it worth the potential traffic inconvenience to Peaceful Valley residents when there are other secure parking garages nearby? Perhaps McDowell could make a deal with one of the nearby garages for discounted overnight parking. This would reduce the impact to other neighborhoods and encourage more people to use transit, walk, and bike to work. (And when the complex is downtown, that shouldn’t be too much to ask.)

Either way, we’re excited for the prospects of the 1400 Tower, and we look forward to its completion. As the West End turns a corner and Spokane’s housing market heats up, we can only hope for increased activity there and in the rest of the city.

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SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: Are you excited for the 1400 Tower to get started? What do you think could improve the proposal? — retail? a restaurant? units for rent or lease? a different front entry? a larger public area? Share your thoughts in the comments below, on Facebook, on Twitter, and in person. We love to hear from you!